Debt ratios by institutional sectors - international comparisons 2023Q4
Published on 15 May 2024
In 2023, the private debt ratio decreases
under the effect of nominal GDP growth
while nominal debt rises slightly. Debt levels in France, both for households and for non-financial corporations, remain the largest ones among the main euro area economies
under the effect of nominal GDP growth
while nominal debt rises slightly. Debt levels in France, both for households and for non-financial corporations, remain the largest ones among the main euro area economies
Non-financial private sector debt ratio (in % of GDP)![]()
- In 2023, the non-financial private sector (NFPS) debt ratio decreases in the four areas compared to the end of 2022, by around 5% in the USA and UK, close to 7% in the euro area, but only 3% in Japan
- In the euro area, the private debt ratio stands at 108.1% of GDP in 2023, 8.1 points lower than at the end of 2022. Nominal debt continues to rise but is offset by the increase of nominal GDP. The decline is very marked in Spain (-12.3 pp), and more moderate in Italy, Germany and France (respectively by -7.6 pp, -7.1 pp and -6.9 pp in 2023)
- Household debt falls in 2023, on average and in each of the four major euro area countries, whether in relation to GDP or gross disposable income (GDI). In France, it remains significantly higher than in its neighbors: the debt/GDP ratio is 10 pp higher than in Germany, and respectively by 15 pp and 25 pp higher than in Spain and Italy. The difference in the debt/GDI ratio is even higher: 97%, compared with 84%, 59% and 74% for Germany, Italy and Spain.
- The gross debt ratio of French Non-Financial Corporations stands at 77.5 % of GDP, well above that of other major countries and of the euro area average (54.5%). Regarding the net debt of NFCs, i.e. gross debt less the treasury in the asset side, the gap with the other major countries is narrowing: 39% in France compared with 26.4% on average in the euro area.
Non-financial private sector debt (in % of GDP)
| Q4 2021 | Q4 2022 | Q1 2023 | Q2 2023 | Q3 2023 | Q4 2023 | |
| United States | 159.0 | 154.6 | 153.1 | 151.7 | 150.2 | 148.6 |
| Japan | 170.0 | 173.0 | 170.2 | 168.6 | 168.1 | 167.7 |
| Euro area | 121.3 | 116.2 | 113.7 | 111.8 | 109.9 | 108.1 |
| o/w Germany | 108.0 | 106.8 | 104.5 | 103.6 | 101.8 | 99.7 |
| France | 147.8 | 146.8 | 144.9 | 142.6 | 141.4 | 139.9 |
| Italy | 109.7 | 104.0 | 101.2 | 99.8 | 97.2 | 96.4 |
| Spain | 124.4 | 112.0 | 107.6 | 105.0 | 101.8 | 99.7 |
| United Kingdom | 142.2 | 135.0 | 133.1 | 130.1 | 129.3 | 127.7 |
Households debt ratio (in % of GDP and % of GDI)![]()
Households debt
| Q4 2021 | Q4 2022 | Q1 2023 | Q2 2023 | Q3 2023 | Q4 2023 | |
| United States | 106.1 | 103.1 | 101.7 | 101.0 | 100.2 | 99.6 |
| 129.3 | 136.4 | 134.3 | 132.8 | 131.6 | 130.6 | |
| Japan | 67.7 | 68.1 | 67.5 | 66.9 | 66.2 | 65.8 |
| 116.5 | 116.2 | 116.2 | 116.1 | 117.1 | 115.7 | |
| Euro area | 59.5 | 57.0 | 55.9 | 55.1 | 54.3 | 53.6 |
| 96.5 | 94.0 | 92.0 | 90.4 | 89.1 | 88.0 | |
| o/w Germany | 56.5 | 55.0 | 54.1 | 53.4 | 52.8 | 52.1 |
| 90.9 | 88.5 | 86.9 | 85.5 | 84.7 | 83.9 | |
| France | 66.1 | 65.7 | 65.3 | 64.2 | 63.3 | 62.4 |
| 102.2 | 102.0 | 100.8 | 98.8 | 97.2 | 97.0 | |
| Italy | 42.5 | 40.6 | 39.6 | 38.9 | 38.3 | 37.8 |
| 63.7 | 62.0 | 60.7 | 59.8 | 59.1 | 58.6 | |
| Spain | 57.6 | 52.3 | 50.4 | 49.9 | 48.0 | 46.9 |
| 88.1 | 84.6 | 81.6 | 79.9 | 76.4 | 74.2 | |
| United Kingdom | 87.8 | 82.9 | 81.4 | 80.0 | 79.6 | 78.5 |
| 132.9 | 129.5 | 126.8 | 123.9 | 122.5 | 120.4 |
Non-financial corporations debt ratio (in % of GDP)![]()
Non-financial corporations debt (in % of GDP)
| Q4 2021 | Q4 2022 | Q1 2023 | Q2 2023 | Q3 2023 | Q4 2023 | |
| United States | 52.9 | 51.5 | 51.3 | 50.7 | 50.0 | 49.1 |
| Japan | 102.3 | 104.9 | 102.7 | 101.7 | 101.9 | 101.9 |
| Euro area | 61.8 | 59.2 | 57.8 | 56.7 | 55.6 | 54.5 |
| o/w Germany | 51.6 | 51.9 | 50.5 | 50.1 | 49.0 | 47.5 |
| France | 81.7 | 81.0 | 79.6 | 78.4 | 78.0 | 77.5 |
| Italy | 67.3 | 63.4 | 61.6 | 60.9 | 58.9 | 58.6 |
| Spain | 66.8 | 59.8 | 57.2 | 55.2 | 53.8 | 52.8 |
| United Kingdom | 54.4 | 52.1 | 51.7 | 50.0 | 49.7 | 49.2 |
Source: Quarterly national financial accounts and Eurostat, Computation: Banque de France
Net cash debt ratio of non-financial corporations (in % of GDP) ![]()
Net cash debt ratio of non-financtial corporations (in % of GDP)
| Q4 2021 | Q4 2022 | Q1 2023 | Q2 2023 | Q3 2023 | Q4 2023 | |
| United States | 40.775 | 40.5 | 40.7 | 39.8 | 38.6 | 38.1 |
| Japan | 42.268 | 44.1 | 40.1 | 39.4 | 40.7 | 42.6 |
| Euro area | 30.674 | 28.9 | 28.9 | 28.8 | 27.7 | 26.4 |
| o/w Germany | 31.079 | 31.0 | 31.1 | 33.3 | 30.5 | 29.9 |
| France | 38.996 | 39.6 | 39.4 | 39.0 | 39.1 | 39.0 |
| Italy | 38.364 | 36.1 | 36.7 | 35.9 | 33.2 | 33.1 |
| Spain | 37.491 | 33.3 | 32.3 | 30.4 | 29.0 | 27.8 |
| United Kingdom | 16.622 | 17.8 | 18.8 | 17.9 | 18.0 | 17.7 |
General government sector debt ratio (in % of GDP)![]()
- In the euro zone, the general government debt ratio decreases by 2.2 points in 2023 and reaches 88.6% of GDP at the end of the year. The public debt ratio falls significantly in Italy and Spain (respectively -3.2 pp and -3.9 pp). The decrease is less marked in Germany (-2.5 pp), and the reduction is smallest in France (-1.3 pp). Similarly to the private sector, this decline is due to the strong growth of nominal GDP in the denominator of the ratio, with debt in the numerator increases of +€148 billion euros for France in 2023, +61 for Germany, +71 for Spain and +105 for Italy.
- The public debt ratio falls in Japan over the year (-6.8 pp). By contrast, it rises in the United Kingdom (+0.8 pp) and even more sharply in the United States (+2.8 pp).
Government sector debt (in % of GDP)
| Q4 2021 | Q4 2022 | Q1 2023 | Q2 2023 | Q3 2023 | Q4 2023 | |
| United States | 121.2 | 116.8 | 116.4 | 116.7 | 118.3 | 119.6 |
| Japan | 229.9 | 236.5 | 236.3 | 234.6 | 230.7 | 229.7 |
| Euro area* | 94.8 | 90.8 | 90.6 | 90.1 | 89.6 | 88.6 |
| o/w Germany | 69.0 | 66.1 | 65.6 | 64.6 | 64.7 | 63.6 |
| France | 113.0 | 111.9 | 112.6 | 111.8 | 111.7 | 110.6 |
| Italy | 147.1 | 140.5 | 139.3 | 140.1 | 137.9 | 137.3 |
| Spain | 116.8 | 111.6 | 111.2 | 111.2 | 109.8 | 107.7 |
| United Kingdom * | 105.2 | 100.4 | 99.4 | 101.1 | 100.0 | 101.3 |
* "Maastricht" definition NSA (nominal value) for European Union countries.
Additional information
For each sector (NFC, Households and General government), the French debt includes outstanding loans from resident and non-resident MFI (i.e. both loans between resident NFCs and between non-resident NFCs are excluded) and issued securities other than shares at nominal value.
Disseminated data of other countries are less detailed. NFC's net loans are therefore estimated by deducting loans assets, which mainly covers loans to resident and non-resident affiliated entities, from loans liabilities.
Disseminated data of other countries are less detailed. NFC's net loans are therefore estimated by deducting loans assets, which mainly covers loans to resident and non-resident affiliated entities, from loans liabilities.
Breakdown of the change in the ratio of households debt ratio (in % points of GDP)
| Change in the ratio | Debt change Effect | Nominal GDP change Effect | |
| United States | -0.7 | 0.7 | -1.4 |
| Japan | -0.4 | 0.4 | -0.9 |
| Euro area | -0.7 | 0.1 | -0.8 |
| o/w Germany | -0.7 | 0.1 | -0.8 |
| France | -0.9 | 0.0 | -0.9 |
| Italy | -0.5 | 0.0 | -0.4 |
| Spain | -1.1 | -0.2 | -0.8 |
| United Kingdom | -1.1 | -0.1 | -1.0 |
Breakdown of the change in the ratio of non-financial corporations debt ratio (in % points of GDP)
| Change in the ratio | Debt change Effect | Nominal GDP change Effect | |
| United States | -0.9 | -0.2 | -0.7 |
| Japan | 0.0 | 1.3 | -1.3 |
| Euro area | -1.1 | -0.3 | -0.8 |
| o/w Germany | -1.5 | -0.7 | -0.7 |
| France | -0.6 | 0.5 | -1.1 |
| Italy | -0.3 | 0.4 | -0.6 |
| Spain | -1.0 | -0.1 | -0.9 |
| United Kingdom | -0.5 | 0.1 | -0.6 |
Breakdown of the change in the ratio of General government sector debt ratio (in % points of GDP)
| Change in the ratio | Debt change Effect | Nominal GDP change Effect | |
| United States | 1.3 | 3.0 | -1.7 |
| Japan | -1.0 | 2.0 | -3.0 |
| Euro area | -1.0 | 0.1 | -1.1 |
| o/w Germany | -1.1 | -0.1 | -1.0 |
| France | -1.1 | 0.3 | -1.4 |
| Italy | -0.6 | 0.9 | -1.5 |
| Spain | -2.1 | -0.2 | -1.9 |
| United Kingdom | 1.2 | 2.5 | -1.3 |
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Updated on 14 May 2024